Addison c



(No Model.)

. A. G. FLETCHER.

NUT LOOK.

No. 443,911. Patented Dec. 30, 1890.

ATENT NICE;

ADDISON C. FLETCHER, OF NE\V YORK, X Y.

NUT-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 443,911, dated December30, 1890.

Application filed October 10,1890. Serial No. 367.692. (Noinodeh) To allwhom it may concern.-

Beitknown that I, ADDISON C. FLETCHER, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented new and useful Improvements in Nut-Locks, of which thefollow-. ing is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improvements in nut-locks, the purposethereof being to provide a device of this character which shall have ayielding and elastic connection with the fish-plate and nut, bywhich thelatter shall be at all times and under all circumstances held firmly inengagement with the threads of the bolt.

It is my further purpose to provide a nutlock capable of application toany form of nut and having an intermediate resilient connection with thefish-plate or other device, in combination with a series of elastic armsor spring-contacts engaging the threads of the bolt with a force varyingwith the turning of the nut, said arms being so formed as to have anelastic yield at one or more points, the body of the nut-lock being ofsuch construction that it may be applied to a nut of any shape.

It is a further purpose of my invention to provide a nut-lock which maybe rapidly and cheaply manufactured, easily and quickly adjusted,operative in all cases without the necessity of employing skilled laborin its application, and having the requisite strength and durability.

To these ends my invention consists in the several novel features ofconstruction and new combinations of parts hereinafter fully set forth,and then definitely pointed out in the claims following thisspecification.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my said invention, Iwill proceed to tie scribe the same in detail, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view of the blank inthe form in which it comes from the devices by which it is stamped out.Fig. 2 is a transverse section of Fig. 1 upon the line 2 2. Fig. 3 is anedge elevation of the completed nut-lock ready for use. Fig. 4 isa'perspective view of a nut with the nut-lock applied thereto, the boltbeing removed in this figure. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the railwith the fishplates and one of the attaching-bolts, showing the nut andthe connection of the nutlock thereto to the bolt.

In the said drawings, the reference-n umeral 1 designates the blank forthe nut-lock, formed from sheet metal of suitable thickness, and havingpreferably a circular shape, although this is not essential. This blankis ordinarily stamped out by suitable. mechanism, and is provided atequal intervals upon its edge with nicks or short slots 2, cut in orsubstantially in the radial lines of the plate or blank. In. the centerof thelatter, or thereabout, is formed an opening 3, from thecircumference of which extend cuts or slots 4, terminating at pointsbetween the central opening and the periphery of the plate. By thesecuts the middle portion of said plate is divided into segmental orangular portions 5 and 6, the former-being of comparatively narrowwidth, while the latter are 'of considerably greater dimension. As shownin the drawings, I employ three of the narrower portions '5 and doublethat number of the broader portions 6; but this proportion may be variedshould circumstances render such a change desirable. The free ends ofthese segmental pieces are so formed as to approximate to the outline ofthe central opening 3, said ends being slightly rounded off to removetheir sharp angles, as shown in Fig. l. The blank being thus formed, thenarrower segmental pieces. 5, which are, like the broader portions 6,formed of elastic metal, are bent inward and away from the inner face ofthe nut-lock plate, the conformation being such that their freeextremities point toward the axis of the said plate, while the body ofthe piece thus deflected is so formed as to assume a gentle reversecurve, for a reason presently to be shown. The broader segmentalportions 6 are also bent or deflected inward; but their free ends arebent until they point in the direction of the exterior edge of thenut-lock plate or away from the axis thereof.

The proportions of the parts are such that when the constructiondescribed is effected the ends of the parts 5 will, upon the inserwillbe entirely free from contact with the bolt, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.i

The manner of using the nut-lock is as follows: The bolt 7 beinginserted in its aperture, as shown in Fig. 5, the nut-lock plate, havingthe construction described, is slipped upon the threaded end of the boltuntil the extremities of the parts 5, which barely touch thescrew-threads and do not necessarily have any contact with the same,rest against the outer face of the fish-plate The nut 9 is then turnedupon the bolt and against the outer face of the nut-lock plate. As thepressure of the nut is exerted thereon, the extremities of the pieces 5will approach the axis of the bolt and be gradually forced into thethreads of the screw, upon which they will bite with a forceproportioned to the degree of pressure imposed by the nut. At the sametime this engagement will be an elastic one, since the spring of thesegmental pieces 5 at both points of the reverse curve will enable it toyield and will preserve its engagement with the threads of the bolt. Thecurved cndsof the elastic pieces 6 will, on the contrary, rest againstthe fish-plate, and by reason of their formation, while yielding to thepressure of the nut and holding it firmly against the threads of thebolt, they will exert a draft upon the nut-lock plate toward the axis ofthe bolt and in direct opposition to the radially-outward thrust of thepieces 5, thus oifsetting the latter. "hen the nut is turned up to theproper point, the peripheral portions of the plate are bent over uponthe edges of the nut, as shown in Fig. 4E.

\Vhat I claim is 1. A nut-lock consisting of a metallic plate having abolt-opening surrounded by a series of lateral elastic pieces, allextending in a direction toward the axis of the bolt-opening and somehaving their free ends curved toward and the others having their freeends curved from the axis of the bolt-opening, substantially as and forthe purposes described.

2. A nut-lock consisting of a metallic plate having an opening adaptedto receive the bolt, the body of said plate being divided bysubstantially radial slots or cuts into a series of elastic segmentalpieces of di ffcrent breadth and length, the narrower and shorterportions being bent into a gentle reverse curve with their extremitiespointing toward the axis of the bolt, and the broader and longer piecesbeing likewise bent in the same direction and their extremities curvedoutward or away from the axis of the bolt, substantially as described.

3. A nut-lock. consisting of a substantially circular metallic platenotched or slotted at equal intervals upon its edge and provided with anopening adapted to receive the bolt, and from which substantially radialslots are out toward the periphery, dividing the body of said plate intoa series of segmental pieces bent inward toward the fish-plate with a reverse curve and having their ends pointing toward the axis of the bolt,and broader segmental pieces bent inward, but having their extremitiescurved outward away from the axis of thebolt, the former series havingtheir ends impinging normally upon the screwthreads of the bolt, whilethe latter are removed therefrom, and the two series exerting an outwardthrust and an inward draft upon the plate, respectively, substantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I have alllxed my nature in presence of twowitnesses.

ADDISON (I. I LE'ICIlER.

Witnesses:

J AMES L. NORRIS, JAMES A. RUTHERFORD.

